1. Field of the Invention
My invention provides a sit/stand adjustable, tower chair which is constructed so as to allow the footrest, the seat, the armrests and the back support to be vertically adjustable up and down, as well as to allow back-and-forth movement in a horizontal direction. More specifically, a tower is mounted to a base portion in an off-center manner and extends generally vertically therefrom. Each of the footrest, the seat, the armrests and the back support is adjustably mounted with respect to the off-center tower.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are at least 10 million video display terminals (hereinafter referred to as "VDTs") in use across the country, and it is predicted that there will be greater than 40 million VDTs by the end of this century. While VDTs are used for a variety of tasks, they are used most intensively by a range of office workers who may spend the entire day keypunching and processing information.
However, as the number of VDTs in the work place has risen, so have the health complaints associated with their use. Surveys indicate the majority of full-time VDT users report high frequencies of health problems. Among other problems, recent studies confirm that VDT users have higher incidences of problems such as eye strain, headaches, insomnia, back and neck strain and fatigue.
As these health concerns have been recognized as legitimate and serious, steps are being taken in many states to introduce legislation to institute health and safety protections for VDT users.
In addition to providing adjustable work stations, including an adjustable work surface, adjustable keyboard, adjustable wrist support and adjustable VDT unit, another important variable is the provision for an ergonomically designed office chair. Such a chair must not only be easily adjustable and functional for the VDT user or office worker in general, but must likewise be aesthetically pleasing so as to be practical in today's high tech, electronic offices.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,487 (Shalinsky et al.) discloses a tilting seat having a base for supporting the seat on the floor and a stem extending upwardly from the base, either integrally or separably from the base, the seat being arranged such that it tilts about a tilting axis passing through the base such that the user can tilt the seat forward when in a working position.
In one embodiment of the '487 patent, the stem is integral with the base and forms an acute angle therewith, with the forward part of the base being rounded. Accordingly, the seat will tilt about the axis defined by the rounded forward surface so as to move the center of gravity of the user to a position where the buttocks support is well ahead of the vertical plane containing the axis of tilting. In another embodiment, the '487 patent discloses a stem which is pivotally mounted to the base which takes the form of a turntable.
While the '487 patent allows for the user to tilt the seat forward when in a working position, and the buttocks support is adjustable in height relative to the stem, the buttocks support height adjustment is limited due to the slant of the stem with respect to the base. Also, the '487 patent tilting seat does not provide for an adjustable back support, footrest, armrest or the option of a gas cylinder including a gas cylinder which is mounted on a height adjustable base.